Jon Epstein, MD, of the University
of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Wins Prestigious Outstanding Investigator
Award From AFMR

(Philadelphia,
PA) – Jon Epstein, MD, Professor of Medicine
and cardiovascular researcher at the University of Pennsylvania
School of Medicine, has been selected as this year’s
winner of the American Federation for Medical Research’s Outstanding
Investigator Award, the organization’s top honor for medical
investigation. The award was given out at the Clinical Research
2006 Annual Meeting, held March 16-18, in Washington, DC.

The Outstanding Investigator Award is presented annually to an
outstanding investigator age 45 or younger in recognition of excellence
in biomedical research.

Epstein’s research interest, along with the Epstein laboratory
at PENN, is in molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular development,
and the implications of these mechanisms for understanding human
disease. His lab works with transgenic and knockout mouse models.

Epstein, who is the first to hold the William Wikoff Smith Chair
in Cardiovascular Research and is also a board certified cardiologist,
is receiving a $5,000 award from the AFMR, dedicated to fostering
medical research and support programs aimed at developing the careers
of physician scientists.

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PENN Medicine is a $2.7 billion enterprise
dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical
research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists
of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in
1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of
Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn’s School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation
for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #4 in the nation in
U.S. News & World Report’s most recent ranking of top
research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty
and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide
for its superior education and training of the next generation of
physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System comprises: its
flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania,
consistently rated one of the nation’s “Honor Roll”
hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital,
the nation's first hospital; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; a
faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty
satellite facilities; and home health care and hospice.